


j.tf 



1434 

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ON THE 



IIHCA INDIANS OF GUATEMALA. 



BY i 



PROF. DANIEL G. v BRINTON, M. D. 



(Tlmd before the American Philosophical Society, October 17, ISS4.) 



fJU 



ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



OF WASHINGTON, D.C. 






4- 



On the Language and Ethnologic Position of the Xinca Indians of Guate- 
mala. By Dr. Daniel G. Brinton. 

[Read before the American Philosophical Society, October 17, I8S4.) 

In the aboriginal ethnology of Guatemala, the affiliations of the Xinca 
tribe have always remained uncertain. The opinion is expressed by Dr. 
Stoll {'Zur Ethnographie der Republik Guatemala, p. 170, Zurich, 1884) 
that an investigation of their language might throw a new light on the 
migrations of the ancient inhabitants of that region. 

Up to the present time, however, no words of their language have been 
published, and students have had no means of comparing it with the dia- 
lects which surrounded them. I am fortunate enough to be able to sup- 
ply this deficiency to a moderate extent, and to offer sufficient materials to 
form some opinion as to this people. 

Their precise location was on the Rio de los Esclavos and its branches, 
which empties into the Pacific ocean, about N. lat. 13° 50', W. long. 90° 
25', and westward to the Rio Michatoyat. Their area embraced most of 
the departments of Santa Rosa and Jutiapa, and may roughly be said to 
have extended about fifty miles along the coast, and back to the Sierra 
some sixty miles. 

On the west they were bordered by the Pipiles, of Aztec lineage, speak- 
ing a Nahuatl dialect not much corrupted ; on their north were the Poko- 
mams, who belonged to the Maya stock, and on their east was a colony 
of Popolucas, a tribe supposed to have been related to the Mixes of the 
Isthmus of Tehuantepec. 

Their name has been variously spelled, Xinca, Xinka and Sine a. The 
first given is correct, the initial X having the value of the soft English sh, 
as in show. 

According to the Geografia de las Lenguas Maya-Kiclie, MS. of Dr. 



ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY 
OF WASHINGTON, D. C. 



Berendt, the Xinca is or was spoken in the following towns or villages in 
the district mentioned : 

Atescatempa, Mustiquipaque, 

Atiquipaque, Nancinta, 

Chiquimulilla. Sinacantan, 

Comapa, Tacuilula, 

Guazacapam, Taxisco, 

Ixguatan, , Tepeaco, 

Jupiltepeque, Tescuaco, 

Jutiapa, Tupitepeque. 

The first information about the Xincas is contained in the letter of Pedro 
de Alvarado to Hernan Cortes, dated July 28, 1524.* He there describes 
his conquest of their territory in the previous winter. Further particulars 
of the campaign are given by Juarros, in his Historia de Guatemala, Tom. 
ii, Tratado iv, Cap. xxii, from the MSS. of Fuentes. 

From these sources we learn that Alvarado first encountered the Xincas 
after he had crossed the River Michatoyat and entered the town Atiqui- 
paque (Atiepar, in Alvarado's letter, who makes as much havoc with the 
native names as he did with their armies). 

In this town he particularly states that he met another people and a dif- 
ferent language from those he had just left (" este es otra lengua y gente 
por si"). 

Thence he proceeded to Tacuilula and Taxisco, not encountering deter- 
mined opposition, as Juarros erroneously says, as Alvarado informs us 
that the natives received him without fighting, buttled in the night to the 
forests. After leaving Taxisco, however, they attacked him in force and 
slew many of his allies. 

The chief town of the Xinca would seem to have been either Nancinta 
(the " Nacendelan, pueblo muy grande " of Alvarado's letter) or according 
to Juarros, Guazacapam. In this vicinity a determined stand was made 
by the Indians, and they caused the Spaniards and their allies much trouble 
by digging pitfalls, and by planting the paths with sharpened sticks said 
to be poisonous. What puzzled the Spaniards was that these natives 
during their fighting held in theirhands small bells with which they made 
as much noise as possible. Probably they were intended either as charms, 
or to alarm the enemy. 

Juarros adds that these tribes were not conquered by Alvarado's incur- 
sion. It required renewed efforts by Don Pedro Portocarrero, in 1526, to 
bring them under subjection. 

On account of their obstinacy, numbers of them were sold as slaves and 
branded with a hot iron, and hence was derived the Spanish name of the 
river on which the Xincas lived, liio de los Esclavos, Slave river. 

Very few hints as to their social condition are found in the early 

*I quote it as published in the liiblio(eca de autorcs Espalioles, Vol. xxii, 
Madrid, 1852, 



accounts. Then- country is stated to have been populous, their towns 
built of wood and not of stone, they were skillful with the bow and arrow, 
and were bold warriors. They formed small independent tribes united in 
a sort of confederacy, the "cabeza desenorio," or chief clan, beingat "the 
famous town of Guazacapam, " and its four dependents or allies are named 
as, 

Nestiquipaque, Guaimango, and 

Chiquimulilla, Guanagazapa. 

The linguistic materials I offer are vocabularies of three dialects of the 
Xinca. 

The first, from Sinacantan, was obtained from a native of that place by 
the distinguished historian and antiquary, Don Juan Gavarrete, of Guate- 
mala, in 1868. The other two were obtained for him in the same year by 
Don Sebastian Valdez, Cura of Jutiapa. As according to Dr. Stoll, the 
originals of these have disappeared, no one knows where, since Senor 
Gavarrete's death, the present* publication seems the more appropriate* 
presenting as it does the only specimens of the Xinca language known to 
be in existence. I would not omit to add that they came into my hands, 
together with other valuable documents, in the collection of the late Dr. 
C. Hermann Berendt. 

Phonology of the Xinca. 

The language is vocalic, and with few gutturals or harsh palatals, con- 
trasting in this respect with the Cakchiquel and other Maya dialects. The 
labials, b, f, and v, are absent, although b is foun d in two or three words 
of the accompanying vocabulary. The Unguals are not prominent, the 
d and th not appearing at all. The semi- vowels r and I are convertible in 
the dialects and occasionally alternate with n. 

In the vocabularies, the letters have the powers of the Spanish alphabet, 
except that x is pronounced like sh in she, the v is the neutral vowel as in 
but, the z is the same as the s, and the compounds csh and seh appear to 
have the value of the x {= sh). 

Vocabulary of the Xinca Language. 



Locality. 


Sinacantan. 


Jupiltepeque. 


Jutiapa. 


Man, 


jurac, 


jumu, 


jurgaqui, 


Woman, 


ayala, 


aya, 


aiya. 


Boy, 


xurum, 


sorone, 


soroni. 


Father, 


tatan, 


tataj, 


tataj . 


Mother, 


utan, 


utaj, 


utac. 


Son, 


najuum, 


nauij, 


naguij. 


Daughter, 


jay a najuun, 





naguij 


Brother, 


xuyam, 


keruke, 


suyac. 


Head, 


jamatan, 


usajle, 


gesalia. 


Hair, 


mux jumatan, 


mosal, 


musal. 


Eyes, 


jurtin, 


juratii, 


yuratica, 







4 




Locality. 


Stnacantan. 


Jupillepeque. 


Jtttiapa. 


Nose, 


jutn narin, 





narica. 


Nostril. 


uona narin, 





lurate. 


Ear, 


ataman, 


mami, 


manca. 


Mouth, 


xa'jan, 


xajac, 


sajac. 


Tongue, 


ejlan, 


ela, 


eglajac. 


Teeth, 


jari xa'jan, 





sajac. 


Throat, 


ta'tam, 





tarti. 


Breast, 


ziquim, 


tutu, 





Arm, 


pum, 


paja, 


paja'. 


Hand, 


jixi pum, 


pu, 


P"j- 


Fingers, 


mux, 


pcre pu, 


pere puj. 


Belly, 


jiguin, 


ururi, 


ururi. 


Leg, 


titan, 


kegiie, 


uapi. 


Knee, 


jaricomon, 


sulna, 





Foot, 


uapan, 


uapi, 


guapi. 


Town, 


machiname, 


saguqui, 


saguqui. 


House, 


macu, 





macu. 


Bed, 


a'tac, 


alutu, 


alutaj. 


Hamack, 


guaro, 





guaro. 


Mortar (mill stone' 


),uiki, 


uik, 


uic. 


Plate, 


aulac 


aljuat, 


augeal. 


Jar, 


erec, 





erec. 


Fire, 


uray, 


uu'ra, 


icura'. 


Water, 


ni, 





huy. 


Maize, 


aima, 





ahua. 


Ear of maize, 


■ 





aima. 


Bean, 


xinac, 


sicna, 


cshidna. 


Salt, 


tita, 





tila. 


Hat, 


ta'yuc, 





tayuc. 


Breeches, 


xu'nan, 


asuna, 


asiuna. 


Paper, 


papooc, 


papu, 


popoque. 


Heayen (sky), 


uina, 





giiigna. 


Sun, 


pari, 


parri, 


parri. 


Moon, 


agua, 





ahua. 


Star, 


xune, 


hueso, 


giieso. 


Day, 


pari. 


ti parri, 


ti parri. 


Night, 


chamazi'ma, 


chijmac, 


schugmac. 


Wind, 


tan, 


una, 


yeuha. 


River, 


xanjui, 


tire, 


ture. 


Hill, 


oaguona 


kerter, 


querter. 


Woods 


ia, • 


caaagua, 


caragua. 


Road, 


taenia, 


talma, 


talma. 


fl< M, 


ilaya'a. 


nayaaj, 


guaya'. 


Earth (land), 


naro 


narro, 


narro. 


Stone 


jixi. 


ixe, 


gicshe 



Locality. 



Tree, 

Ceiba, 

Banana, 

Jaguar, 

Deer, 

Jabali, 

Dog, 

Snake, 

Fish, 

God, 

Soul, 

Alive, 

Dead, 

Old, 

"White, 

Black, 

Eed, 

Yellow, 

Green, 

Blue, 

Bright, 

Dark, 

Above, 

Below, 

Yes, 

No, 



Sinacantan. 

jutube, 

pa'guac, 

jugua, 

uijlay, 

tuma, 

cargua jaxo, 

pelo, 

jurumuy, 

seema, 

tiuix, 

terouala, 

ixiuao, 

teroa'ar, 

mere, 

mooti', 

zumati, 

tenati, 

meelati', 

mee, 

mee, 

minabar, 

zama, 

xarn, 

xama', 

jaa, 

xim, 



Jupiltepeque. 
Utis, 

uilay, 



urunugui, 
samu, 

namasamac, 

ixij, 

tero', 

rnochi, 

moatij, 

simatij, 

tenajtij, 

totojtij, 

meyatij, 



Juttapa. 
utu'. 



guilai. 
tubma. 



urunugui. 
giamuc. 



tero'. 

mochi. 

mougua. 

sijmatig. 

tenajtig. 

meyatij. 



day, 








cshi mani maqui con 
Dios. 


night, 


■ 




cshi manuoiguai con 
adios. 


bye, 


. 





coo-par. 






Numerals. 




1. 


ica, 


ical, 


ical. 


2. 


ti, 


piar, 


pia'r. 


3. 


uala, 


ualar, 


guarar. 


4. 


jiria, 


iriar, 


iriar. 


5. 


P«j> 


pijar, 


pujar. 


6. 


tacal, 





tacal ar. 


7. 


pujua', 


puljar, 


pulluar. 


8. 


tap»c, 


apuj. 


apocar. 


9. 


uxtu', 





gerjsar. 


LO. 


pakil, 





paquilar. 



Comments on the Vocabulary. 

Bfan. Junui. In the Xicaque language of Honduras jome = man, but as 
this is the only close similarity in a comparison of thirty seven words, 
I attribute it to accident ; jurat has a faint resemblance to Cakchiquel 
hun uinak, one man. 

Father, tataj, is evidently the universal baby word for father, and its 
analogies are worthless for tracing affinities. The same is true of 
utaj, mother. Compare Germ. Vater, Mutter, Cakchiquel lata. 

Son. najuum, in Pokomchi akun, probably an accidental resemblance. 

Daughter, jaya najuun, jaya evidently from aya, woman, female, hence 
"female child," the combination showing that najuun does not mean 
son, but child, offspring. 

Brother, xuyam and keruke are evidently wholly different words, and 
are either used by the different sexes, or apply the one to an elder the 
other to a younger brother. 

Hair, mux jumatan (the last word no doubt an error for jamatan, liter- 
ally "the fingers of the head" or more properly " the extremities, 
the small branches of the head"). See Fingers, musal is apparently 
a synthesis of mux, and gesalia, with the same signification. Such 
compounds indicate that the Xinca is more synthetic than the Maya 
dialects. 

Nose, narin, narica, may be the Spanish nariz, nose. 

Teeth. The words xa'jan and sajac, mean mouth. The prefix jari seems 
to mean either bone, or front part, as it re-occurs in jaricomon, knee 
(knee-cap ?). 

Breast, tutu may be Spanish teta, but in the Maya dialects we find Cak- 
chiquel and Quiche tu, tit, mamma. Pocoman, tuj, Choi., txu; ziquim 
may be related to Quiche tz'um, mamma. 

Hand, jixi pum, probably "the end of the arm." In none of the Maya 
dialects is there any separate word for "hand." The hand and arm 
are included in one term, the proper translation of which is "the 
upper extremity." When it is desired to distinguish between hand 
and arm, a compound must be formed, or the distinction be left to the 
hearer. Jixi is also given for stone ; perhaps the stone point or end 
of the arrow explains the identity of the expressions. 

Fingers. On mux, see teeth, pere pu, from pum, upper extremity, and 
a prefix probably signifying ends, tips, or branches. 

Leg. uapi, means foot, q. v. 

Knee. Sec teeth. The two words given evidently mean different things. 

Foot, uapan. Comp. Cakchiquel akan. 

Town. macMname. This is plainly the Pipil chinamitl, town, with a 
prefix ma. 

Mortar. Span, piedra de moler, the hollowed stone on which the 
women pound the corn. 

Plate, in iIk> original, eomal, from Nahuatl eomaUi, a shallow earthen dish 
• prepare tortillas. 



Maize. The word aima given for maize and ear of maize is found in pre- 
cisely the same form in Chontal, and in Lenca ama. I am inclined to 
derive it from ixim (pronounce ishim) the universal word for maize in 
the Maya family. Later, we have for corn field uaya'a, which is close 
to the Cakchiquel auan, corn-field, or auex, when the corn is young. 
If this is correct, it would indicate that the neighboring tribes learned 
the cultivation of corn from the Maya stock, which is the more signifi- 
cant as it is now the opinion of botanists that the native habitat of 
the Zea mais was in Guatemala where it was developed artificially 
from the wild Euchlmna luxurians. The other word given for maize, 
akua, is identical with that for "moon." This may possibly refer 
to an identification of the moon as the goddess of maize. In Chipe- 
way the name of maize is mandamin, "the grain, min, of the god, 
vnanito." 

Beans, xin'ac is the Cakchiquel, tzinalc, Tzendal txenek. Evidently the 
Xincas got their corn and beans first from their neighbors of Maya 
lineage. 

Salt, tita, from Nahuatl iztatl. This article the Xincas learned from 
their Nahuatl speaking neighbors, the Pipiles. 

Breeches. All three words are corruptions of the Spanish calzones. 

Paper. The words are corruptions of Span, papel. 

Heaven or Sky. uina', closely allied to Zotzil uinaje'l. 

Sun and Moon. In pure Maya the general root for sun is lei, for moon, u. 
But in the Kekchi, Pokomchi and Pokomam we have for moon the 
totally different word po. This seems to be the radical ofparri, sun, 
in Xinca. Further, in Chanabal and Mam we have for moon ixa'u, 
where the ix is probably the feminine prefix, leaving.for moon a'u, a 
kin to Xinca ahua. 
The word ahua bears a superficial resemblance to huy, water, but a 

close examination of these tongues does not bear out Dr. Trumbull's 

theory, of a radical connection between the expressions for sun and water. 

(See Proceedings of the American Philological Association, 1875-6, p. 45.) 

Star, xune, allied to Cakchiquel, tzumil, star ; hueso appears to have no 
connection with Maya dialects. 

Day. pari, the same as sun. 

Night, chijm—ac, Cakchiquel aha, night, perhaps with the preposition 
chi, at, "by night, " " at night. " 

"Wind, yeuha, Pokonchi te'ug. 

Tree, utis, Tznedal te, Choi tie'. 

Jaguar, uilay, Pokomchi, oaijlam. 

Deer, tuma, Chontal, chima'. 

Jabali. cargua, from caragua, woods, jaxo, Pokomchi, aj'k, hog, wild 
hog ; compare the name of the same animal in Pokomchi, quiche ajk, 
wood-hog. 

Dog. pelo, Spanish, perro. 

Soul, terouala, in which tero is the adjective "dead." 



Alive. irij, Aguacateca, itzin, Tzendal, r'uxul. 
Old. mocJti, Maya, noixib, T/.ot/.il mo'ol. 

Colors. The names of all the colors differ totally from the Maya. They 
appear to have a generic sullix, ati, appended to the radicals 

mo, white. teu, red. 

si in, black. tot, yellow. 

me, blue or green. 

The word meelati for yellow is probably a mistake, and the identifica- 
tion of blue and green is common in the radicals of most Central Amer- 
ican tongues as I have elsewhere pointed out (The Names of the Gods 
in the Kiche Myths, Proc. Am. Phil. Soc, 1881). 

For comparison I add the Maya radicals for colors, as presented in 
the Kiche dialect. 

zak, white. cak, red. 

gek, black. gan, yellow. 

rax, blue or green. 

It Is evident that there is not the slightest relationship, and they 
are equally remote from the Pipil and Aztec color names. 
Numerals. The numerals indicate few and faint similarities to any of the 
other Central American or Southern Mexican languages with which I 
have compared them ; ica, one, is like Mangue tica, and the four first 
may be compared with the Lenca of Honduras as follows : 

Xinca. Lenca 

1. ica, ita. 

2. piar, pe. 

3. uala, lagua. 

4. jiria, aria. 

But I regard this as accidental, as it is not borne out by the re- 
mainder of the Lenca vocabulary, in four dialects, which I have 
brought into comparison. 

The termination ar in the Jalapa dialect reminds one of the suffix 
uual, indicating turn or repetition, found in the Ixil numerals, a 
rather pure Maya dialect, thus : 

ii/tt/mial, one time. 

on-tail, two times, 

ox ual, three times, etc. 

God. tiutf. Gavarrete appends the note to this word: "It does not 
properly signify God, but image or idol. At present it is applied to 
the Images oi the saints." It is probably from the Cakcbiquel tioh, 
great, divine, a word employed in a religious sense. This indicates 
lie origin of their ancienl cult. 

The nnmber live, puj-ar, is clearly the noun puj, hand, and refers 
to the five fingers. 



9 

Six, tacal, appears to be a compound of ti-ical, = second, first, i. e. the 
first finger of the second hand, in seven, pitj-ua, and eight, apvj, 
the word puj, hand, is apparent!}'- present. 

From this analysis I reach the conclusion that tlie Xincas belonged to a 
different linguistic stock from the Mayas or the Pipiles (Xahuas). They 
were a rude tribe, who first learned the planting of corn and beans from 
the Cakchiquels or Pocomams, some parts of their religious rites from the 
same, the use of salt, and some of their village organization from the 
Pipiles, and portions of their present dress from the Spaniards. 

They spoke a vocalic language of monosyllabic radicals, whose themes 
are chiefly formed by suffixes. 

It may be that they were the rude primitive folk who once extended 
over Guatemala and were forced down to the coast and into the restricted 
limits where they were first found, by the warlike immigration of the 
Maya and Nahua races, both of whom distinctly remembered a foreign 
origin. 

"We know little of the date of the advent of the Cakchiquels and Poco- 
mams into Guatemala. But a traditional history of it is preserved in the 
"Annals of the Cakchiquels," written shortly after the Conquest by Fran- 
cisco Ernantez Arana Xahila, the original MS. of which is in my pos- 
session. He informs us that when his ancestors entered Guatemala large 
tracts of it were uninhabited, and other portions were peopled by a race 
who, even to the Cakchiquels, appeared as barbarous, and so rude that 
they called them chicop, brutes. They had captured two of these, and 
learned some words when they entered the lower country. The annalist 
proceeds : 

"They [i. e. the ancestors of the Cakchiquels] descended finally to 
Cholumag and Zuchitan. The language there was very difficult, and only 
the barbarians themselves could speak that language. We spoke only as 
we had asked the barbarians Loxpin and Chupichin [their captives], and 
we said on arriving, 'uaya, uaya, ela opa.'' The barbarians were greatly 
astonished to hear us speak their language with the natives of Cholumag ; 
they were really frightened at it ; but they gave us only good words." 

From these few words, the meaning of which I do not know, it is evi- 
dent the language was of a totally different stock from Maya or Nahuatl. 
It was soft and vocalic, like the Xinca ; and, indeed, ela, tongue (lan- 
guage 1), is found in the vocabulary. Unfortunately, Xahila does not tell 
us the signification of the phrase he gives. It was probably some form of 
friendly salutation. 

But it is not worth while to pursue the inquiry further. These sugges- 
tions will indicate the interest which attaches to the Xinca tongue and \vill 
I hope, inspire some one to obtain more complete information about it. 



